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William Gallas scored a second-half header to earn Arsenal victory in a scrappy match with Portsmouth.

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In a drab first half, Portsmouth came close to opening the scoring when Peter Crouch saw his header hit the post.

Arsenal’s best opening fell to Emmanuel Adebayor but Sylvain Distin’s excellent tackle prevented a certain goal.

After the break, Adebayor and Samir Nasri missed chances before Gallas got in front of David James to nod home the winner from Denilson’s cross.

The result lifts Arsenal to fourth place in the table, above Aston Villa, by virtue of having scored one more goal than Martin O’Neill’s side, who next play on Tuesday.

But for a long time, it looked as though Arsenal would not get past a much-improved Pompey defence.

And in a sluggish opening period, neither side could establish dominance with possession frequently given away cheaply.

Arsenal, lacking creativity in midfield, were finding it difficult to break down a Pompey side that looked intent on eradicating recent defensive errors.

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